Entries not meeting submission requirements as above will not be eligible.

Writers must be individual financial members of the SA Writers Centre.

Manuscripts must be submitted during the four week period. No early or late entries will be accepted.

You can only submit one manuscript (or version of) during the submission period.

During the submission period no individual writers may contact the SA Writers Centre, the Publisher or Hachette Australia to seek information about the progress of their submission.

Manuscripts submitted for consideration in the SAHMP must be:

complete

not a first draft (please edit thoroughly)

fiction, non fiction or young adult fiction (sorry no poetry, children’s books or other are eligible).

Selection of the manuscript will be at the discretion of the Publisher and no discussion shall be entered into by the unsuccessful applicants.

Selection of a manuscript for the SAHMP is not a guarantee of publication.

Hachette reserves the right to consider the selected manuscript for publication within twelve weeks of delivery of a new draft of the manuscript, but gives no guarantee of publication.

The work must not be previously published in any format.

The work must not be under consideration by another publisher.

Writers who are not selected for a mentorship are eligible to resubmit the same work in following years.

All submissions must be submitted electronically.

The form of the mentorship:

The Publisher will work with the selected writer.

The exact form of the mentorship will vary according to the needs of the writer and the manuscript, but will include structural notes provided by the Publisher and telephone or Skype calls as appropriate to a maximum of five phone calls, as well as correspondence by email.

The mentorship will conclude either when the writer feels that they do not need further assistance or the Publisher feels that they are unable to be of further assistance, with either party to be advised in writing of the end of the mentorship.

The Publisher will not be available to give advice to the selected writer after the conclusion of the mentorship, unless so agreed between the Publisher and the writer.

The Publisher will not discuss the content of the mentorship with anyone other than the selected writer.

About Sophie:Sophie Hamley has worked in the print and online publishing industries as a bookseller, editor, writer, content producer, web and interactive TV producer. She was a literary agent from 2006 until late 2014, during which time she was President of the Australian Literary Agents’ Association and a member of the Book Industry Collaborative Council. She now works as a publisher with her wonderful colleagues at Hachette Australia.

After the success of last year’s Adelaide Pitch Conference – where out of the 43 attendees, 27 people were asked by major Australian publishers to submit their manuscript (most to more than one publisher) – we will be running it again towards the end of 2016.But don’t leave it until the last minute – begin your preparation now! Below you will find workshops that will help you perfect your manuscript so it can be at its best when the time comes.If you would like to be notified of details when released, please sign up here: Pitch Conference. [EVENT_ESPRESSO_CATEGORY event_category_id="pitch-conference-prep-1459914048"]

Mentorship Application Form

You will also need to identify at least one (maximum of three) goals for your mentorship and agree to the full terms and conditions.

Process

SA Writers Centre will connect you with a mentor with four weeks of application. Mentorship fees must be paid in advance in full to the Centre.

What to expect

Mentorship hours are billed for actual time spent, in 15 minute (minimum) increments. This includes all contact with the mentee including phone/Skype/IM conversations, emails, reading and feedback time and face to face meetings.Note this means that if you send four emails to your mentor, that will equate to one hour of mentorship time.The mentor and mentee will develop a shared timetable and plan, including identified goals, and will keep a weekly record that tracks progress towards goals and time spent by the mentor.Any questions or difficulties will be resolved by the SA Writers Centre.

Rates

Mentorships are offered in five hour blocks.5 hours $55010 hours $88020 hours $1650You can add additional blocks upon completion of initial blocks if you and your mentor agree that this would be beneficial for your work.[gravityform id="15" title="true" description="true"]

Manuscript assessment

Before submitting to a publisher or agent, many writers find it beneficial to have their manuscript read by an independent reader. This may be someone you know, but is more likely to be someone you find in a writers group, or via an organisation like the SA Writers Centre.

SA Writers Centre offers writers access to a professional, independent reading and assessment service. All our assessors are industry professionals, with many years experience in reading, assessing, reviewing, representing and publishing manuscripts.

Genres include:

Fiction (long and short form) – all genres

Poetry

Children and YA

Non fiction (long and short form)

What you can expect:

Between 4 – 6 weeks after submission, you will receive a written report that will provide feedback that will outline specific strengths and weakness, with a focus on plot, pacing, style, character, setting, voice and dialogue. It may also provide information on potential markets, readership and publishers, and constructive feedback on how the manuscript can be improved.

SA Writers Centre will match your manuscript with the most appropriate assessor.

What you won’t get:

This service is not about connecting you with an agent or publisher. Indeed, there is little evidence that a positive assessment attached to a submission to a publisher has any influence at all. This service is about getting independent professional advice on your writing and the development of your writing, and about getting the best possible manuscript prior to submission.

This service is also not an editing/proofreading service. If you require assistance with grammar, formatting etc, please contact us, or try the Society of Editors.

Pre submission Assessment Once your manuscript is ready for submission, you need to spend time perfecting your pitch. While all publishers and agents have their own submission guidelines, we can give you general assessment of your synopsis, cover letter, biography and first chapter.

Personal Consultations SA Writers Centre offers thirty minute face to face or Skype consultations. This is for guidance and advice on ways to achieve your writing goals, or as a follow up to a written assessment.

To apply for a manuscript assessment, and for costs and submission guidelines, please contact us at [email protected] .

Assessors

Our assessors are highly experienced industry professionals.

If you have a script that you want assessed please refer to AWG by clicking here.